


Time and Time Again

by Future_nonexistent, sunrisesnowcat



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Episode: s01e22 Steven and the Stevens, Gen, Let Steven Say Fuck, Post-Steven Universe Future, Steven is pansexual change my mind, Time Travel, i have like 15 more story ideas and I had to get at least one out of my head
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-12
Updated: 2020-12-14
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:09:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28028313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Future_nonexistent/pseuds/Future_nonexistent, https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunrisesnowcat/pseuds/sunrisesnowcat
Summary: Steven universe was doing great.He was happy, he had a great relationship with his girlfriend, and he was finally moving on with his life.But then, just because Steven universe can’t live a year without something interesting happening, a piece of the past decides to pay him a visit.Literally.
Relationships: Connie Maheswaran & Steven Universe, Connie Maheswaran/Steven Universe, Crystal Gems & Steven Universe, Lars Barriga & Sadie Miller, Lars Barriga & Steven Universe, Steven Universe & Everyone, Steven Universe & Steven Universe, The B team & Steven universe
Comments: 23
Kudos: 108





	1. Beachapalooza

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lars was bored.
> 
> Not for long.

Lars was having a decent enough day. Well, as decent as a typical day of work at a minimum wage donut shop could go. Steven hadn’t bothered them today, and even though, deep down Lars might enjoy Steven's company, he sure wouldn't let Steven, or even himself know. He was cold, hard, cool, closed off Lars Barriga.

He couldn't be associated with _Steven._

Steven was warm and soft and lame and open. He'd never get close to the cool kids if Steven was constantly hanging around him. He felt a pang of jealousy.

Steven didn't seem to care what anyone thought of him. And while Lars tried to have the same air, he had the feeling Steven's was _genuine_. He briefly wondered what he'd be like if he wasn't trying so hard to seem effortless. Eh, what did it matter.

”hey Lars, can you pass the napkins?” Sadie was asking him to do his job again. Hmph.

He scowled. ”no. Get it yourself.” 

Sadie glared at him. She moved to get the napkins herself. He only felt a tiny bit guilty. Only a tiny bit.

He sighed and looked around. It was a wonder the Big Donut could stay open with how few customers they had. He wished he was anywhere but here. Nobody really even comes to the Big Donut, for god's sake.

He just wanted something- _anything_ interesting to happen. Oh god, was he hoping Steven would come and wreak havoc? Well, he thought, as long as Sadie cleans up, it'll be a break in the monotony, at least.

He’d probably regret thinking that later, judging by what happened basically every time Steven tried doing something ”cool”.

As if on cue, Steven Quartz Universe himself, came rushing through the door of the Big Donut, practically bursting with excitement. His grin was so bright that Lars thought he needed sunglasses to stand it.

Laramie Barriga used to have that grin. Not anymore. Ahh, angsty teenager thoughts.

 _Oh no,_ Lars realized; when Steven was that excited, it typically meant big trouble. Or he wanted to show them a really cool rock he found. 

It was usually weird magic stuff, though. Lars really didn't want to have to deal with the aftermath of _this,_ which would undoubtedly require a two-person clean-up.

And by two person clean up he meant mostly Sadie, but hey, he helps a little bit, he deserves some of the credit.

Steven evidently didn't notice Lars' apprehensive look, as he brightened when he saw both Lars and Sadie at the counter. “Lars! Sadie!" he cried. 

He ran at the counter at a sprint, making Lars reflexively jump back. Sadie smiled at him, her arms still resting on the counter. Lars scowled.

"Do you want to play at Beachapalooza tonight with me?!” Steven yelled so loudly Lars had an instinct to cover his ears. "I think it'd be really fun- and my dad can't go with me because the boat's fat- and-" 

"We get it, Steven," said Lars. "We don't want to play in your stupid band." He flinched internally. Well, Steven didn’t seem fazed, so that was alright.

right?

Sadie glared at Lars, then smiled softly at Steven. “Sorry Steven, but we can’t play any instruments.”

Steven pouted. “I could teach you! It would be fun! I'm sure you guys have great singing voices, too. You could sing with me!"

Sing?

"I don't know Steven, I don't think Lars would want to," Sadie said.

"What about you?" Steven asked. Sadie looked away.

"She's too worried about hurting your feelings to let you know that neither of us can or want to sing," Lars told him. "Besides, what will you be doing?"

"I'll be singing too!" Steven exclaimed.

Lars made eye contact with Steven and smirked. "What makes you think you can sing?" He said that in the most condescending, shilly tone he could muster, hoping Steven would at least react a little.

Steven didn't avert his eyes, and his smile never faltered. "I've been singing from day one! I'd say I have some experience. What do you think about the lessons?" Damn it.

Lars put on a sneer. “Sadie’s right, I’ll sing with you when pigs fly.”

Sadie elbowed him. “Lars, be nice."

Lars scowled in response.

Steven sighed. “Aw man.” Suddenly, he brightened and looked up hopefully. “I could teach you how to play an instrument! That would be fun! That way, you don't have to sing!"

“Maybe in the future, Steven. I’m sorry.” Sadie said, looking genuinely sorry. Steven pouted. "Why not?" Sadie chuckled. "I doubt we'll be able to learn an entire new instrument in a couple hours." She leaned against the counter. "Also, i honestly think Lars just doesn't want to."

Lars cackled and mimicked Sadie. “Yeah, I’ll play with you when you’ve grown up! Go play with your dollies now, give it 5 more years, ki-“

A light flashed and they were gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think Lars would genuinely know steven's age and just call him 8 to make fun of him. So here i wrote that Lars knows Steven is 13 and is using that to taunt him. Also bc its the only way for the time glass to work and I'm digging up excuses-


	2. Trouble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven was having a good day.

Steven Quartz Cutiepie Demayo Diamond Universe was having a good day. 

Connie had come over on lion, and they had done various cute and cheesy couple shenanigans, such as having a picnic on the moon, riding a tandem bike through Paris, making far-too-cheesy popcorn, and watching a bad horror movie.

Connie had kissed Steven on the cheek a couple of times. Steven had blushed bright red every single time.

he grinned internally. They had been dating for what, one year already? Amazing how fast time passes. Nonetheless, he stilled loved connie as much as he did on day one.

He had made a stop in empire city and rented an apartment for the time being. Being on the road was nice, but sleeping in a car every night gets a little uncomfortable after months of doing it. 

He also didn’t want to go through the pain and awkwardness of having to go to a chiropractor. That was something that no amount of healing spit could fix. 

Steven had managed to figure out a decent balance between human and gem culture. He'd been practicing all of his powers, even the new ones, as his therapist suggested.

He felt a lot better having control over them, and as he got more used to them, the emotional component dulled, and just as he no longer had to be on the brink of elation to float, he no longer had to be on the edge of having a breakdown to create a shockwave.

it felt nice, knowing he had control over himself at last.

he was now happily settled on the couch with his girlfriend. Heh. Girlfriend. Still quite unbelievable.

“I’m going to brew some coffee, do you want any?" Steven asked. Coffee at noon? Questionable, but eh.

"Is that even a question?" Connie asked, "Of course!" So she likes moon coffee too. Good to know.

"Oh, I might as well make some food while I'm in the kitchen. What do you want?" Steven asked. He stood up from the couch, and walked to the kitchen.

"I don't know," said Connie. "What do we have?"

He smiled as he opened the fridge. There was quite the selection, but he decided to have some fun and only list off the ingredients for hamburgers.

"We have lettuce, tomatoes, some patties, some 𝙁𝙐𝘾𝙆-“ Steven had somehow managed to smoosh his finger in the fridge door.

“What was that last one?” Connie called from the living room. She knew Steven well enough to know that there wasn't something serious enough that she couldn't joke about it. 

It was probably just a bump. She smiled. With his graceful floating powers, she'd have never thought he was as clumsy as he is.

Steven sighed. He stuck his finger in his mouth. “Mayonnaise!” He called back. There wasn’t a wound, but the pain dulled. God, sometimes he wondered what he would do without his powers.

But now was not the time for an existential crisis.

Connie made her way to the kitchen and poked her head through the doorway. "It didn't sound like mayonnaise," she said, grinning.

Steven feigned concern. "Is your hearing okay? What else could you possibly have heard?"

Connie had to stifle a laugh. Steven was a terrible actor. "I thought you said we had some fuck."

"Now," Steven put his hands on his hips. "Why would I say that?" Sassy. He had to be sassy. Still working on it, but he was getting better, right?

"I don't know," said Connie "Why-" She was cut off by a scream, and the appearance of teenaged Lars and Sadie, and eight-to-fifteen-year-old Steven (it really was impossible to tell his precise age) behind Steven. She wordlessly pointed and he looked behind him.

a face.

a face so familiar.

he would know, he had seen it in the mirror for 7 years straight.

He felt the familiar sickly pink flood into his cheeks.

Update: Steven universe was not having a good day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much sunrisesnowcat for being my beta without you this fic would be a pile of mush
> 
> I don't know how to respond to this without leaving another note, so thank you! You really have good concepts, which is the part I struggle with. We make a great team!


	3. More espresso less depresso

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wow, he really was cool in the future.

It happened so quick. One moment he was at the big donut with Lars and Sadie, the next, he was looking at his future self and Future-Connie. Steven looked up at Future-Steven with awe. 

Future-Steven had to be at least as tall as Pearl, and he was glowing bright pink! Steven grinned. Could he glow pink in the future? That was so cool.

He immediately rushed up to Future-Steven and Future-Connie. This was the best day ever! he was so excited to get to know his future self!

They could play games, and make silly food, and do all sorts of things he wished he could do with the gems, but they never had time for. He didn’t notice Future-Steven's increasingly panicked expression as he thought about all the exciting possibilities.

They could play Steven tag! He wondered how it would work with two Stevens, though.

Lars and Sadie, however, did notice. They hadn't budged from where they landed, and they were both apprehensive and confused, however, it came across differently on each of their faces.

Lars looked absolutely horrified, his shock and panic overriding his curiosity or rational thought. Sadie just looked completely and utterly resigned. 

This was just another thing in the neverending string of Steven-related nonsense she had to deal with. She was quite fond of him, but did he really have to cause quite so much trouble?

“Soooo. Who are you and what are you doing in my kitchen?” Future-Steven asked, visibly glowing more pink and wincing a bit at more clearly gem-related shenanigans, but he tried to keep himself dignified. 

I mean, they were clearly himself, Lars, and, Sadie, but he could be anywhere from eight to fifteen, and Lars was, well, alive. obviously before 14, because he didn’t have that little weight of maturity on his shoulders.

Wow, angsty monologue.

Maybe they were dimension-hoppers and they'd introduce themselves with different names and everything would be okay, but somehow, Future-Steven doubted it. This was probably a time thing, and he had learned long ago not to mess with time.

“You must be future me!” Past-Steven grinned. Future-Steven blinked. So it was time travel. Wonderful. Just the problem he needed to deal with.

“You know about the time glass, right?” Past-Steven asked.

Future-Steven nodded. How could he forget _that_ incident? Well, he supposed it blended in with the others. But still, that one ran in his mind every time he read a book or watched a movie containing time travel. Little reminders, just enough to be painful, not enough to do any real damage.

“Well, since dad couldn’t play with me at beachapalooza," Past-Steven continued, unaware of Future-Steven's internal dialogue. "I went to the big donut to get Lars and Sadie to sing with me.

They said no, and Lars said something about me being an adult, and I forgot that I had the time glass in my hand, so now we’re here!" Steven gasped for breath.

For some reason, his sentences had come out quick and strung together, but if anyone could understand him, it was himself!

Future-Steven blinked, processing what Past-Steven had said. So he was only at the sea spire. He tried to quickly remember what Past-Steven would know or not know, to avoid telling him anything that would wreck the past.

He definitely didn't know many of his mom's secrets, he didn't know she'd "shattered" Pink Diamond, much less that it was fake. He wouldn't even know about the diamonds, for that matter, or Lapis, or Peridot, or that Garnet was a fusion! Or that corrupted gems were, well, gems.

Yeesh, what did he know at that point? As he was trying to piece it out, the initial shock went away, and the pink began to slowly fade from his cheeks.

Connie butted in, interrupting future-Steve's train of thought. “You must be from an alternate timeline then. According to the stories Steven told me, that isn’t what happened in this universe.”

Future Steven sighed. He had completely returned to his natural shade. Past-Steven wondered why he was he pink in the first place.

And why he stopped. If he could change colors on command, he'd do it all the time! He'd be pink in the mornings, he'd turn brown and finally surprise Garnet by hiding in the house, camouflaged, he'd change color to express emotions, to impress Connie, to show the gems that he was a Crystal Gem too, and all sorts of reasons!

“You should get back to your time. I don’t want to risk spoiling the future,” Future-Steven said. He looked tired. He felt tired.

Past-Steven pouted. “Aw man. I didn’t even get to know you! I’m sure Lars and Sadie want to meet you! Come on over, guys!”

Future-Steven closed his eyes and sighed. Past-Steven wondered if he'd do that a lot as a teen- wait, no, adult. He couldn't see why he'd want to, but if he was doing it, it was probably fun, though he couldn't see how.

“I’m going to get some coffee,” Future-Steven muttered.

Connie stood up and declared she needed one as well. 

Past-Steven felt even more confused. He had tasted coffee before. He thought he hated it. Maybe coffee tastes better in the future. Or it was an adults-only thing! He was so excited for the future!

As Future-Steven went to fill up a mug of coffee, Lars and Sadie trudged over to Past-Steven. “Steven,” Lars hissed, “what the heck is going on?” And 

“You remember how you said you would sing with me when I’m an adult? Well, I think we’re in a time where I’m actually an adult!” responded Steven. 

He was excited. He didn't even know time travel was possible. Then he looked over at Lars and shrunk. He didn't like the look Lars was giving him.

Sadie smiled. “Future-you sure looks good.” Steven thought Sadie was right. Future-him had a cool pink jacket, a new black star shirt with a star that had three different colours in it. Pink, yellow, and blue. 

Steven smiled when he remembered future-him was still wearing jeans, though they were probably bigger. It was nice to know he'd still be doing something the same way, even all these years in the future.

Future-him was very tall, so he'd definitely need bigger jeans. He looked like he was probably taller than pearl, maybe almost as tall as garnet! Steven marveled at the fact that he'd be tall one day.

This was in five years though. He still had a lot of growing to do.

Future-Steven and Connie walked back, each with a hot mug of coffee. Now that Past got a better look at Future's face, he noticed Future looked stressed.

Well, he guessed if he suddenly saw himself as a toddler, he'd be a little worried too. He started to worry if he was stressing Future out. He really didn't want to cause pain. Then again, he wasn't even sure if it was his fault they were flung forward. It probably was.

“Alright. Let’s get to know each other, and then you guys can head out.” Future said, sounding just a teeny tiny bit exasperated. Was it Past? Past's seeds of worry started to knot up in his stomach.

Lars scoffed. “Please, we have better things to do than to talk with the likes of you.” _Ouch,_ Past thought. _That was rude._

Sadie nudged Lars, much like she had at the Big Donut a few minutes ago. “Lars, be nice,” she said.

Future glared at Lars, and then laughed. “No, no. I want to hear what he has to say. What better things **do** you have to do?” He smiled, eyes practically sparkling with mirth. Past bit back a laugh.

“Uhhh..” Lars was very clearly lost, but he tried to hide it. Connie and Sadie giggled. Future’s face stayed the same.

Past beamed. Man, he really **was** cool in the future. It would be amazing to just come up with comebacks on the spot.

Connie stopped giggling. “Alright, I know we’re having fun, but you guys have to get back.” She said, very mom like.

Past sighed. "But I don't even know how!" Also they had literally talked for like two minutes but who was he to judge.

"What?" Lars exclaimed. "You're the weird magic kid! You should know how we got here." Alright true but still.

Future ignored Lars and tried to stifle his worry. He could unpack it later. "Ok, Steven, what were you doing before you got here?"

"I was in the Big Donut because I wanted to get Lars and Sadie to play in Beachapalooza with me," Past told him.

"With Lars and Sadie?" asked Future. "Not dad?"

"No, I couldn't play with dad because the boat was too fat."

Future snapped his fingers. "The time glass! Of course!"

"Huh?" asked Past.

"Earlier today, you were at the sea spire with the gems, right?" Future asked, not waiting for a response before continuing. "Pearl said not to touch anything, but Amethyst grabbed a janky-looking hourglass, causing an eruption of sand, right?

And you grabbed your tiny one because Amethyst got to keep hers," he finished. "That _is_ the time glass. All you have to do is hold it up and say when you want to go."

“Alriiight. Come here, guys,” Past said. He couldn't help but feel a little excited. _He_ had control of a time-thingy? But this was a time to be very impressive and serious. He couldn't disappoint his future self.

Serious Steven mode.

Lars and Sadie walked over. “I want to go back to my time,” Past said. The time glass did nothing. Past tapped it. “Hello? I said I want to go back to my time.” The time glass sat innocently in his palm. Both Past and Future started to panic, just a bit.

Future walked up. “Let me see that,” he said gently. Past handed the time glass over. Future Steven inspected it, turning it around in his palm and peering into it.

He grimaced. “I don't remember it being cracked.”

Past gasped. “It's cracked?” Oooh, he felt _very_ worried now.

"Mmm, we inspected it very closely when we picked it up, so there's a good chance it cracked upon your arrival," Future said.

Lars spoke up. “Does that mean we’re stuck here?” his breathing hitched. He hadn't thought of that.

“No.” Future said. He was sounding more tired by the minute. “You’re going back to your time. Looks like we have to pay a visit to the gems, though. Don't worry. We'll figure out a way."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sigh. How write baby steeb? Chapters will get longer, don’t worry.


	4. This is fine, this is alright.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sadie is confused, to say the least. But she’s fine! She’s fine, really.

Sadie was fine. Sure, she was panicking, and sure, there’s a six foot tall, (kind of hot), older version of Steven Universe in front of her, but she was fine. Really! Never mind the fact they had launched themselves forwards in time. Never mind the fact their time machine was cracked. It was ok. Everything was ok. It was all going to be ok. Probably. In any case, older Steven seemed to have an idea of what was going on, and he said they could fix it. It’s fine. Everything was fine.

Connie came back riding on a pink lion _. Sure! A pink lion. Why not?_ Sadie vaguely remembered Steven mentioning he had a lion, but she thought he was kidding! Or at least exaggerating. To tell the truth, she thought he had a cat named lion. What was a thirteen-year-old doing with a lion? Especially one who could be as careless as Steven.

While she was mulling over the fact that there was a literal **pink lion** in future Steven’s apartment, future Steven _climbs onto_ the lion’s mane. _Why not? Of course. The lion is also a horse._ Sadie had never heard of anyone riding lions before. Then again, she’d never heard of a pink lion either, so this was a _totally normal and perfectly fine_ situation.

Sadie sighed. Steven was an enigma. He had imagination to spare, but also, she’d known as long as she could remember that the gems were _weird_. And she supposed that included Steven. Sadie was only six when Rose gave up her existence to make Steven, but she still remembered when a gem monster tore through Beach City. The other gems had focused on the task at hand, but Rose had scooped her up and gotten her out of harm’s way. It was remarkable how calm she was in the face of so much danger, Sadie remembered asking her mom about it later, and her mom just said “don’t get involved with gem business, it’s nothing but trouble.” Well, here she was, knee deep in gem business.

“Well? What are you waiting for? Come on!” Future Steven called, completely oblivious to the fact that he was completely destroying everyone’s braincells.

Steven, of course, wasted no time and immediately sprinted over to the lion and climbed on. He grinned. Sadie thought about trying to pull him back. She knew he was thirteen, but he still looked eight, and a child charging towards a lion is a situation she’d like to prevent. But also, Future Steven seemed fine. Sadie had heard that lions couldn’t be domesticated, but she’d also heard that they were golden-brown, not bright pink. Besides, this was gem business, Steven probably knew what he was doing far more than she did.

Of course, she wasn’t eager to climb on a lion, but if it was that or being stuck in the future- well, she thought he looked docile enough. Honestly, if Future Steven told her that the sun didn’t exist anymore, or that trees were orange, or that squirrels had taken over the world, she might believe him. She slowly came to the conclusion that she trusted Future Steven, and she was willing to risk it to get home.

Lars, however? Did not seem to come to the same well-thought-out conclusion.

“I am NOT getting on that thing! What if it eats me? What if it kills me? What if it-“Time for Sadie to act as voice of reason.

“-It’s probably not going to eat you, Lars. Come on, let’s go.” Sadie couldn’t believe she was advocating for _riding a lion_ but, she supposed that’s what it came to.

Lars stared incredulously at her and spluttered some more. He clearly couldn’t believe it either, much less that Sadie was actually starting to approach.

She walked towards the lion. _Come on, Sadie, don’t be a hypocrite._ She climbed onto the lion. As soon as she was actually on the lion, she felt less scared. She didn’t know what she expected, but it was surprisingly comfortable. It was soft and warm, like freshly-spun cotton candy, but it was also firm, and stable. Something about it was comforting. “Wow, it’s really fluffy,” she remarked, unsure of what else to say. She noticed Lars still standing a ways back and decided to speed up the process. “Come on, Lars. Don’t be a coward.”

Lars strutted up to the lion, grumbling. He tried to climb on, but failed quite miserably. Future Steven sniggered. Connie glared at him, and he quickly backed down.

Sadie offered him a hand. Lars took it begrudgingly. There was a faint pink dusting on his cheeks, but she couldn’t tell whether it was from embarrassment or something else.

After Lars got on, Sadie looked in front of her. She could swear that Future Steven and Connie were _inside_ the lion’s mane. But that wasn’t possible, right? It had to be them sinking into its fur. Then again, why _wouldn’t_ Steven have a magic pink lion with storage space in its mane?

Connie stepped into the lion’s mane. “Alright, let’s get to the temple!” She cried, sounding very much like a warrior.

The lion roared, a portal opened, _because why not_ , and they were sent into infinite space.

—————————————————————————————

When they arrived at the temple, there were some differences that were easily discerned. Nobody was thinking about that though, because they just arrived via a 𝙢𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙘 𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙡𝙞𝙤𝙣.

After the shock wore off (not really, Lars look like he had just been through hell) they finally got to admire the beach house. It was pretty much the same, but with a few minor changes and a nice looking glass dome.

Sadie made the mistake of looking to the right.

A city.

Not a city in like beach city, but a 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝘆 city, capital C.

Colorful buildings, lush plants everywhere, people flooding the streets, a beautiful almost castle like tower right in the center...

it was truly a sight for sore eyes.

Lars was gaping at the city too.

So was Steven.

“Wow.. that’s so COOL!” _Steven yelled, stars bursting in his eyes. How is that possible? That shouldn’t be possible._

Future Steven (who had climbed out of the lion’s mane while they were losing all sense of reality), looked in their direction.

“Oh, that’s just Little Homeworld. Don’t worry about it. You shouldn’t have seen it though..” he trailed off, deep in thought.

wow, Sadie never thought Steven could actually look thoughtful.

He snapped back to reality when Connie poked him. “Come on,” she said, “we have a time glass to fix.”

Everybody, including the lion (which Steven said was named Lion) walked towards the beach house.

Sadie sighed internally. _Hoo boy,_ she thought, _this sure is going to be an interesting day._

But she wasn’t going to complain, because Sadie was fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hehehe “she’s fine”. Sounds familiar.


	5. Narcissists and nicknames

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connie was worried. Over the years, she had bookmarked all the signs that would mark Steven as “stressed”. Right now, he was exhibiting all of them.

Connie was worried. She knew when Steven was lying. She knew when he was hurting, she knew when he wasn’t fine. She had figured out signs to most of his emotions. Some of them were general, easy to spot and common to most people. Some were Steven-unique, and some were very hard to notice unless she was looking for them.

Tight fists were easy enough to spot and easy to translate. Stressed, annoyed, 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘳𝘺. She could either try to calm him down or stand back, depending on what was causing it and how much energy she had. Steven had decent self-control, but when things got out of hand, he could quite literally blow up.

A wavering voice meant he was uncertain. This one was a little trickier to notice, but not bad. She typically either backed him up or took over for him. He always looked grateful when she did.

Voice crack. Scared. It was hard to not be scared herself when she heard his voice crack like that. Steven had been through so much, and if he was trying to hide his fear, it was normally worth worrying about. Still, it was important to figure out what he was scared about and to either try and stop it, or comfort him, depending on what it was.

Stress lines under his eyes. Planning what he was going to do, going over what could go wrong. Anxious. Connie tried to distract him when that happened. He could be rash and a bit of a mess unless she could calm him down.

Shaky breathing. 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘶𝘮𝘢. He was typically remembering something awful that happened to him, and there was a lot to choose from. She tried to center him and get him out of the situation, but sometimes, there was nothing she could do to help.

Steven seemed to be stressed and anxious as he opened the door to the temple. There was nothing to do about it at the moment, and he seemed to be mostly ok, considering the situation, so she decided she’d let him be for the moment.

Past Steven trailed behind him, filled to the brim with excitement. He was grinning and looking around at everything. He was practically vibrating with energy, and it was clear he was trying to learn everything about the future he could.

Connie smiled. She remembered when she first met Steven. When he was full of smiles and silliness. When she envied his “cool, magic destiny.” When they went to watch Dogcopter together. When the world was simpler.

Pearl was sitting at the table, chatting with Amethyst. Garnet was nowhere to be seen, presumably deeper within the temple.

“Oh! Steven! What a pleasant surprise! What brings you here today?” Pearl asked upon seeing Steven enter.

Lars was cowering outside. He was kind of intimidated by Steven’s magic guardians anyway, but the thought of Steven’s _future_ magic guardians was even more terrifying, somehow. Steven talked about them like they were incredible, but Lars had noticed he was alone a lot. And Steven had a tendency of seeing the best in people. Heck, Steven thought highly of Lars. And not in a “wow he’s so cool” way. In a “he’s nice and we’re friends” way, which Lars had many strong objections to.

Sadie felt wrong, somehow, entering. Future Steven had called it a temple, and while it looked like a normal beach house, Sadie was still pretty sure she didn’t belong to whatever religion this “temple” was for. What was she saying? She wasn’t very religious at all. There was no way that she was religious or important enough to step inside without someone directly asking her.

Past, however, had no such stipulations. He tried to zoom in and see the gems. He thought they must be so cool in the future! Would they look different? Would they still like him? He also wanted to get a look at his bedroom. He wondered if his future self had renovated it.

Before he could follow his future self through the door, Connie held him back. She shook her head. “I’m sorry, Steven, but it’s best if future-you introduces you. I don’t want to shock the gems too much.”

Steven nodded. She sounded reasonable. He smiled and said, “Well, tell him to introduce me soon! I want to meet the future gems!”

Connie smiled. “Don’t worry, it won’t be long.”

Future smiled, or at least tried to. It looked a little wobbly. Connie’s alarm bells started ringing. She was worried about him. She really hadn’t seen him this stressed since he ran Little Homeschool. It was a stressful situation, and maybe the gems had a quick solution. She could reassure him later.

“Can’t a guy go and visit his family?” Future asked, trying to be snarky and failing miserably. It was clear he was worried about something. At least it was to the gems and Connie. It was also clear that he had missed them a lot.

Pearl smiled. “Oh, come here.” She pulled Steven into a hug. After a few seconds, she let go, her hands still on Steven’s shoulders. “Look at you! You’re taller than me now!”

Steven chuckled. “That I am. Maybe one day I’ll be as tall as mom.”

Pearl laughed. “That’d certainly be something!” She was glad he could mention Rose without the strong emotions she tended to bring with her now. It was a brief mention, but it was glad to hear him refer to her without being angry or sad. He really had grown since she’d seen him.

His smile died a little. Pearl knew he was remembering the problem. This wasn’t a being-sour-about-Rose upset, but a worried-about-something-important upset.

“We actually did come for a reason, Pearl,” Connie interjected, deciding Steven would probably prefer if she did this next part. He already had so much to handle, and it was clear he was worried. “Come on out, guys.”

Lars, Sadie, and Past stepped into the house.

Lars tried to act as if he wandered in on his own, he didn’t need a prompt. He had decided to go in himself. What, was anyone going to stop him?

Sadie timidly stepped through the door. Here was the direct invitation she needed. She felt her heart pound. She really didn’t want to be here. She supposed Steven’s house was fine, but the future? Where everything was so strange? She just wanted to be home, cuddled in blankets, sipping tea and watching a horror movie.

Steven ran in. He wanted to climb on everything, do everything, see everyone. He was grinning like a thousand tiny suns and his eyes were so wide it looked like he was literally trying to see the entire beach house at once.

Amethyst and Pearl stared in amazement as they saw “classic Steven” running about. Amethyst dropped the fork she was holding, food the least of her worries. “Garnet!” Pearl shrieked, once she had regained the ability to speak.

Garnet stepped out of the temple, and for the first time, Steven realized just how tall his future self was. He was about an inch taller than _Garnet_. _Cool!_

“What’s happening, Pearl?” Garnet asked, before she looked at the past crew. She too stared at them for a solid 15 seconds.

“Garnet, why didn’t you tell us about this? We could have done something sooner!” Pearl practically shrieked.

Garnet tore her gaze away from the past crew, and turned to face her. “I didn’t see this coming. This must have something to do with the time glass.”

Now it was Amethyst’s turn to shriek. “WHaaT? Last time your future vision didn’t account for the right timeline was-“

Pearl slapped her hand over Amethyst’s mouth. “They don’t know about that yet!”

Older Steven nodded. “Right. They arrived using the time glass, but it seems to have broken on impact. It seems he got it around the same timing I did.”

“So what you’re saying is that they’re stuck here,” stated Amethyst, although it was also clearly a question.

“They need to get back!” insisted Pearl.

“But if we can’t fix the time glass-“ said Garnet, her future vision still blurry.

“Calm down. I think I know how to fix it,” Connie said, breaking through the squabbling gems.

She was met with a synchronized “how?” from all corresponding people in the room.

“Past Steven, give me the time glass.” Past Steven dutifully handed her the time thing. As cool as this all was, he did want to get back home, and he could tell his presence was causing the gems distress.

She passed the time thing to Big Steven. He looked at her, annoyed. “Why’d you ask him to give it to you when he could have just-“

Connie shushed him. “Lick it.”

Lars, Sadie, and Past Steven looked very confused. Future Steven however? He just looked at her like she was a saint. He bent over and kissed her cheek.

“Connie, you sweet genius, why on Earth didn’t I think of that?”

“Because you wanted an excuse to kiss me,” Connie joked.

Steven laughed. Lars looked grossed out, Sadie smiled, and Past Steven felt the heat rise in his cheeks.

Future Steven brought the time glass to his mouth and licked it. Lars looked like he was going to gag. The cracks sparkled, sealed up, and the time glass was as good as new.

He handed the time thing to Past Steven, who took it and looked at his future self as if he was god himself.

“Come here, guys.” Past said, gesturing towards himself. Lars and Sadie walked over.

“I want to go back to my time.”

The time glass glowed pitifully, and then the light flickered out.

The glass shattered in his hands.

—————————————————————————————

Everyone stared at the time glass for a couple of seconds, before Lars exploded. “ARRGH! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!” he shouted at Past “If it weren’t for you, WE WOULDN’T BE HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE!” Past Steven looked horrified. The gems were quick to defend him.

“How rude of you! You shouldn’t jump on Steven like that, it’s not his fault!” Pearl shouted. An argument with the gems and Lars started, with Connie and Sadie trying to calm them down.

None of them noticed Steven’s hands inch towards his ears.

None of them noticed Steven slowly changing hues.

None of them noticed Steven expression morphing from panicked and guilted to pure, unadulterated 𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿.

Steven growled. He knew his limits, and he knew he was edging close to one. He needed to stop this before the fighting made him lose control. He had to get everyone to _be quiet_ so he could think.

“𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗣 𝗜𝗧! for once can you PLEASE SHUT UP!” he said, trying to get their attention. It worked, as a shockwave pushed them back, their eyes all turned towards Steven.

He didn’t regret it. Maybe if he were 16, he would apologize. But not today. He knew that getting everyone to calm down for just a moment was the only way this could be resolved without him needing to remove himself from the situation.

“Lars, you can’t say anything about this entire incident being Steven’s fault. You were the one to send him and Sadie here in the first place, if I recall correctly.”

He took a deep breath and channeled his inner leadership qualities.

“We have to find a way to either repair or get a new time piece.” He turned to the gems. “Do you guys know any planets with other sea spires?”

Before the crystal gems could responds, Past Steven butted in. “Wait! First of all, we need nicknames!”

Lars scoffed. “Why would you need nicknames? We can just call you Steven and future Steven.”

“But people can get confused!” He whined. Everyone looked at each other. The two Stevens looked nothing alike.

Future Steven nodded. “And people from my time would probably consider it weird to call me ‘future’ since I’m from the same time as them.” He shrugged. “I’ll go for a nickname. What’ve you got?”

Past Steven smiled his signature 1000 watt smile. Future Steven winced. He forgot how bright his smiles used to be. When things were so much less complicated.

“Alright. I was thinking Rose, because that was our mom’s name!” He declared, clearly proud of his choice.

The gems, Steven, and Connie all winced. “Steven, that’s a cool choice, but think about how it makes us feel when the gems complain that mom’s not around. We’ve been compared to her all our lives, I’d rather not have her name.”

“Oh,” said Steven. “I just thought, you seem like you finally measure up to her, you seem just like how I’d imagine she was.”

Future Steven sighed. He tried his best to remember how much he idolized Rose at this point, and tried to take it as a compliment. “Thanks, bud, but I still think I’d rather stray away from her name.”

Past Steven only looked slightly put off. “Alright. How about star, or pink-“

Future Steven quickly interrupted “-No.” He was quiet, but intense and firm. He knew his past self didn’t mean anything by it, but it just struck to close to home. The last thing he wanted to be was another source of trauma for poor Steven. “Sorry Steven, that just opens up an entire new can of worms. Choose another nickname, please?”

Past Steven stilled looked a little unsettled. “Uh.. how about you choose your nickname? What’s your favorite flower?”

Future Steven thought for a moment. “Azaleas.”

Past beamed again. Man, he really was easy to please when he was younger.

“That settles it then! Your new nickname is Azalea, or Az for short!” Steven said, grin never faltering.

Steven smiled. Az. That sounded nice, actually. “And you’re still Steven?” he asked.

“Well, yeah! Is that ok?”

Az nodded. “Sounds great, Steven.”

Steven grinned. “Glad to hear it, Az!”

Looks like the day won’t be so bad after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have so many ideas and so many ways that this could play out it’s not even funny. Sorry if this feels rushed idk what I’m doing honestly


	6. How strange

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This was Steven in the future?
> 
> How strange.

If you asked how Lars felt about this entire mess, he would say that he felt a lot of emotions- Wait, no. That was bad phrasing. He would say he felt like shit.

The moment he had hope, the moment he ACTUALLY believed in Steven universe (now named Az,) was the moment all hopes of returning home vanished.

He felt like punching something.

he felt like punching  _ someone. _

The thing is, he couldn’t do that, because both Stevens were protected by Connie (who apparently had a sword) and their alien moms.

”Alright.” Az looked towards the gems. “You guys check nearby accessible planets for sea spires, and we’ll,” he gestured at him, Steven and Sadie, “check up with Lapis, Peridot, and Bismuth to see if they can help. It’ll save more time. If everything goes wrong, we’ll contact the diamonds.”

When did Steven get so mature and leaderish?

”Steven, give me the shar-“ he stopped himself, looked conflicted for a split second, then shook his head. “pieces. I’ll bubble it and send it to them so they can take a look at it.”

Steven unclenched his fist, looking almost nervous.

Az took the shards, made a gesture with his hands, and a pink bubble encased them. He tapped the top of it and it disappeared. Since when could he do that? It was kind of cool, but Lars would never admit it, because eight foot tall and hot or not, this was still Steven, and Steven was lame.

Somehow, he doubted that now.

Az then took out his phone, selected one of his contacts, and texted something to someone. Lars resisted the urge to lean over and peek. Who did Steven have to text? In the past, the only people he had in his contacts were Lars, Sadie, the Connie girl he was always rambling about, and numerous other insignificant people.

Steven looked like he remembered something. “Wait,” he started, “who’re Lapis, Peridot, and Bismuth?” 

Az grimaced. ”You don’t need to worry about them for now. Just know that they’re friends.” He looked deep in thought for a second. “Actually, don’t get used to them being friends.” He sighed. “You’ll find out.”

Lars grinned. “Oooh, keeping secrets now, universe? Can’t be good.” 

Az scowled. “Yep, good old Lars.” He sighed. “I hope I don’t accidentally transfer some of my annoyance at you to current Lars.” 

Alright, that was a bit worrying. A scowl looked good on Az, though. Steven should scowl more. He always had that stupid grin on his face. Always looked so amazed by even small things. He should grow up.

“Anyways” Az said, “let’s get going.” He muttered to himself. “B team’s classes should be done around three, and it’s currently,” he checked his watch. “2:58. Let’s go.”

Sadie looked slightly worried. “Where exactly  **are** we going?”

Az looked at her “Did I not mention? Lapis, Peridot, and Bismuth are in Little Homeschool teaching classes, more specifically, Art, Gardening, and Blacksmithing. They should be done by three. Which is why we have to get going. Their time after school is their own, and I won’t be sure where exactly to find them.”

Sadie didn't look the least bit reassured. "Little homeschool? You mean that city thing?"

Az hummed. "It’s in the city, it’s hard to explain without explaining too much."

Lars scoffed. “The walk to that city or little whatever you called it is going to take way longer than two minutes, Az. What are we gonna do, teleport there?”

The gems, Connie, and Az sniggered. Steven smiled a bit.

Lars regretted his words already. As much as he didn’t like cheery Steven, he quickly decided that smug Steven was far worse. He didn’t like the idea that Ste- _ Az _ knew something he didn’t.

All six of them unanimously said “Yes.”

_ Fuck _ \- that  _ really _ couldn’t be good.

———————————————————————

After Az dragged them to a crystal platform (which Lars somehow didn’t notice until that moment) and they were sent into infinite space for the second time, they arrived, in the city he had seen earlier. Az landed gracefully, arms outstretched, and started walking almost immediately. Steven also landed flat on his feet, but he wobbled a little and stood for a moment before following Az. Sadie and Lars, however? They both landed flat on their faces. As he picked himself up, Lars realized that Az was graceful. Steven, graceful. Never thought he would ever use those two words in a single sentence before. 

He took in the scenery. He had to admit, it was beautiful. In a colorful, alien way, but still beautiful. The buildings were somewhat ornate, tall, and they all seemed to fit together in a way that didn’t seem “same-y.” There were plants, flowers, and  **holy shit were those spaceships-**

”Woah,” Sadie said. “This is beautiful.” No shit, Sherlock.

Lars glared at Az. “What the hell is this? When was all this constructed?  **WHY ARE THE PEOPLE COLORFUL?** ”

Az smiled. That’s it. He smiled. When did _ Steven _ get so mysterious? It was annoying, honestly. Annoying, if not slightly intimidating.

”That’s not important,” Az said, as if it wasn't important that there was an **entire fucking city where nothing was a couple hours ago.** A couple hours for him, at least. ' _ it's been five years,'  _ Lars reminded himself _. 'Five years.'  _

That was still too little time for an entire fucking metropolis to be constructed, but sure, he'd take it.

Az jutted his thumb out and pointed up to the roof of the  _ very big  _ building behind them.

”We’re going up there.” 

“Fuck.”

Steven gasped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve discovered the key to writing Lars is to make him ticked of and pissed at everything-
> 
> Also, tell me that Az wouldn't torment Lars. Tell me.
> 
> ALSO ALSO, lars still thinks of Az as Steven bc idk he's used to it i guess


	7. Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wow, Az sure had a lot of friends.

” **WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE’RE NOT TAKING THE STAIRS?** ” Lars’s shout reverberated through the field, somehow. It defied the laws of physics. They weren’t in a room, they were in an  _ open field.  _ But, of course, that’s Lars for you. So pissed that he bends the expectations of sound itself.

_ That was a very deep analysis _ . Was Sadie overthinking this? Who was she kidding, she was stuck 5 years in the future. She shouldn’t be trying to reason anything out. Lars was trying that out, and look at how that worked for him.

Az sighed. “I said, taking the stairs will take too long, so we’re floating up to the roof.” Sadie frowned. Floating? Roof? Steven universe? Couldn’t be a good combo. Steven was a klutz. He may be a ray of sunshine, but he was a klutz. Sadie doubted this would go well. Even five years in the future,  _ Steven _ floating to a roof did  _ not _ sound like a good idea.

Lars spluttered. “We’re humans! We can’t  _ float!”  _ For once Sadie actually agreed with Lars.

Az and Connie smirked. Connie laughed. “You’ll see. Also, He never said  _ you _ were doing the floating.” Mhm. Did that matter? It’s still  _ floating, _ no matter who was doing it. Everyone here was human, even if Steven and, Sadie supposed, Az had a weird, magic mom.

Az and Connie started dancing. Steven was doing a flashy, very Steven-esque style, and connie was doing a very graceful almost battle like dance.

Sadie thought it was cool, but  _ dancing?  _

Kinda seemed like the wrong thing to do in this situation. 

Well, she thought that until they started  _ glowing. _

Suddenly, Az and Connie's (beautifully) dancing figures disappeared, and melded into one.

They stopped glowing, and Sadie saw a beautiful,  _ very tall _ woman.

God, why is everyone in the future so  _ hot? _

They had Steven’s jacket, sandals, and curly hair, and Connie’s shorts, hair length, and blouse.

Sadie soon found that she couldn’t quite look away from her.

”Hey there, everyone! I’m Stevonnie, and I’m your ride to the roof!” they announced, swinging their arms and flashing a thumbs up at the people.

_ Oh man, even her voice was hot. _

Sadie tore her gaze away and glanced at Lars and Steven.

Lars looked dazed, his mouth wide open.

And Steven? 

Steven looked absolutely  **_starstruck._ **

Sadie could see why. Man, she was  _ pretty. _

Steven started jumping up and down. “I can fuse too? With Connie? I mean, Garnet said that I could do it too but-”

Stevonnie giggled. They leaned over and bopped Steven’s nose. He squealed. “Of course you can. You’re as much of a gem as Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl are.”

Sadie snapped out of her trance. “This still doesn’t answer our question. How are we gonna float?” She had a guess, but she really didn’t want it to be right.

Stevonnie grinned. They gestured for them to come over. Everyone obliged. They then  _ picked up Steven, bridal style, launched into the air, shot up like a bullet, and landed on the roof. _

_ Woah. _

After a long time of them just rocketing to the sky, they landed on the roof of the building and disappeared from view, until they were nothing but a dot. 

Sadie thought she saw her release Steven, then walked off the 50 story building (at least she thought so, god, she was  _ so damn high _ ) and started  _ plummeting _ . Lars screamed like a girl. Sadie couldn’t look away. Why would she do that?

They continued falling for a good couple seconds, but about 5 meters before hitting the ground, they slowed down, literally floating like a leaf in the wind.

oh.

_ oh. _

Stevonnie looked their way.

”Your turn!” they said, looking at Lars. He screamed again.

———————————————————————-

Sadie’s hair was very wind blown and she looked like she had just met god himself.

Lars looked like absolute crap.

But Steven?

Oh god, Steven looked like an angel (as usual). He was smiling like nobody’s business. Sadie wished she had his energy.

Stevonnie glowed and went undone. Shame.  _ She really was beautiful. _ Az looked at his watch. He smiled. “Looks like we’re right on time.”

As if it were scripted, three women? Children? Gems. They were gems. Anyways, three of them ran out from god knows where. She felt like she was in a movie or something. This was so unreal.

The buff grey one with rainbow hair beamed at seeing Az, ran up to him as if to give him a hug, but the tiny green one cut in front of her and started talking. “Steven! Good of you to visit us! We got your text and your bubble, what was it you needed us for?”

Wow, her voice was cute. Like a little squeaky toy. Heh. 

Az moved aside and gestured to them.The gremlin thing looked at Steven and froze. Az cleared his throat.  _ Man, did everyone freeze when seeing Steven?  _

_ Was there something special about him? Was he the leader of a cult, or a god, or a child of a god, or- _

”Yeah, so the pieces in the bubble used to be a time glass, which they tried to use to get home but broke.” He grinned awkwardly. Sadie had zoned out. Great.

The blue one spoke up. “Does that mean that these people are from the past? Have they even met us yet?” Sadie highly doubted she had met a blue woman before.

Az shook his head. “Nope! Which is why you should introduce yourself, ya know.”

The grey one turned to face Sadie and the others. She waved. “Hi? I’m Bismuth, and this is Peridot,” he pointed to the green one, “and Lapis.” He pointed to the blue one.

Peridot butted in. “We’re the crystal gem B team! Second only to the A team!” She triumphantly jutted out a thumb and pointed it at her chest. Awwww.

Lapis scoffed playfully. “Yeah, that’s what B team means.”

Peridot waved her off.

Steven grinned. “We’re Steven, “he pointed at himself, “ Lars,” said person scowled, “and Sadie!” She waved. 

Peridot cleared her throat. “Well then. Tell us what happened, Steven.” 

“Well,” both Stevens started. They looked at each other. Az opened his mouth, but closed it again. Heh. That was kind of funny. 

“Actually, Peridot, I’m going by Az, for now. It’s to avoid confusion.”

Peridot nodded. “Well then, Az, tell us what happened.”

Wouldn’t Steven be the better person to summarize what happened? Sadie then remembered what happened the last time Steven explained what happened. It wasn’t the worst, but she didn’t want him wheezing in someone’s arms for the second time that day. Maybe Steven’s explanations had gotten better over time.

Az sighed. “Alright. So Steven, Lars, and Sadie were sent to the future because Lars made a joke about Steven being 18, or something.”

Lars blushed.

”They were transported to the future, and landed in my apartment. When they tried to get back, well...” he trailed off. His eyes glazed over for a second, and it would be worrying, but he snapped out of it soon enough.

”They found out the glass was cracked, so we visited the gems. Connie then told me to lick it, so I did, and it fixed itself.” He rubbed his temples as if he had a headache. Honestly, Sadie couldn’t blame him.

”The thing is, when they tried to use it again, it shattered. So in that bubble,” he pointed to the bubble peridot was holding,”is the shards of the time piece.” He finished rather well, very not out of breath.

It was nice to know Steven had a better hold of himself in the future.

Peridot nodded. “Come here, Az.” Her voice sounded strained. Like she was holding something back.

Az looked wary, for whatever reason. As shouldn’t look wary, he was over double peridot’s size.

He moved forward. 

“Bend down,” she said, her tone carefully neutral. Perfectly controlled, almost robotic. Sadie was beginning to see why Az looked so utterly terrified.

Az did as told.

And then Az got slapped in the face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My creativity is *dying* also oooh gremlin


	8. *smack*

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ouch. That must have hurt.

Az reeled back, but not from shock. It was almost like he was expecting it. He chuckled. “You’ve gotten better at slapping since the first time I met you, Peri.” He rubbed his cheek. “Ouch.”

Peridot had a look of absolute rage on her face. Steven thought it was kind of cute.

“Awww... you’re like an angry little slice pie!” He cooed. Lars, Sadie, and Connie sniggered. Peridot’s rage intensified. She sucked in a breath, even though she didn’t have lungs. Man, she really  **was** cute.

” **STEVEN QUARTZ UNIVERSE, YOU ARE THE WORLD’S BIGGEST CLOD!!”** Wow, she was loud. Louder than Lars. He didn’t know what clod meant, but it sounded rude.

Az looked very confused. “What’d I do?” Steven bit back a laugh at the current situation. He had a feeling Peridot wouldn’t want him to laugh.

Peridot glared  _ up _ at Az. Steven smiled internally. Heh. He really was going to get taller. Nice to know one day people would look  **up** to him. Get it? He smiled at his own internal monologue.

”What’d you do?  _ WHAT’D YOU DO? _ DO I REALLY HAVE TO EXPLAIN THIS TO YOU?” She snarled. Wow, that’s a bit harsh. It still sounded cute though, with her squeaky voice.

Like an angry cat. An angry green cat with triangle hair. Yeah, Steven could imagine that.

Az looked at connie. She shrugged. Az gave her a ‘gee thanks’ look. Alright Steven had to try REALLY HARD not to laugh.

He turned back to Peridot, visibly nervous. “Yes..?”

Peridot sighed. Future people sigh a lot. Should he start doing it too? 

“Alright. First of all, the legendary glass of time was not meant to transport so many people so far in the future or past. It’s no surprise it got cracked.”

“Second of all,” she took another deep breath. “There’s time sand in the time glass, obviously. When it cracked, some of the sand obviously leaked out, because I don’t see much sand in the bubble.” She gestured to the bubble.

”when you licked it and it sealed up, it was both A. Still worn out from the energy needed to transport 3 people to the future, and B. MISSING SAND!!!”

Az had a look of deep realization. Woah. It all made sense now. He had no doubt that the two Stevens looked almost identical now, same expressions and all. “Well, to be fair, I only encountered  _ one _ time glass when I was  _ thirteen _ and I destroyed it, intentionally, literally as soon as I saw it. How was I suppos-”

“You did  _ what? _ ” Peridot asked. “Steven, when I first met you, I thought you were useless, weak, and dumb, then I realized you were right about so much and I thought you were useful, weak, and smart. Now I think I know you better, and you are useful, strong, and dumb. You could’ve asked the literal di-” Peridot coughed as water entered her mouth.

Lapis shot Peridot a look. “They’re from the  _ past _ , Peridot.”

Peridot spit the water out. “Well, I’m sorry, but  _ Steven _ destroyed the time glass! A valuable piece of gem technology!”

Az grinned awkwardly. “We’ve destroyed  _ two _ now, actually.”

Bismuth chuckled. “You’re really not helping your case, now, bud.”

Az smiled. “I never was any good at being on trial.”

Peridot looked less mad now. “Worst defendant I’ve ever heard of.” She smiled.

“I go on  _ trial? _ ” Steven asked, distraught.

“Oh, it was just an inside joke,” said Az. “Don’t worry about it, you’ll get it when you’re older.”

Steven didn’t look quite convinced, but Bismuth interjected. ”I’m sure I could fix something up for a new time glass,” she said “ I don’t know about the sand, though. You’ll probably have to go to some gems that were made for that.”

Az smiled softly. “Thanks, Bismuth. Thank you, Peridot. Thanks, Lapis.”

“You better thank me, Az.” Peridot huffed, though she was hiding a smile. _ Awwww _ . Steven could see that Peridot loved Az, as much as she tried to hide it.

”Hey, Steven,” Peridot said. Steven turned to face her. “Just to let you know, when you see me in your time, don’t expect me to be nice and all that. Same for Lapis and Bismuth.”

Steven was confused. “Why? You and Az seem really close.”

Peridot sighed. “We weren’t always close. In fact, I think all of your gem friends tried to kill you at one p-MPH” 

Wait. Kill him?

Az had snuck up behind her and used his hands to gag her. “MPH!! MPHHH!!!” She flailed her arms, trying to kick at Az but failing miserably.

Aghhhh, so CUTE!

”Peridot, don’t spoil the future! What if it changes!” He hissed. Hmmm. That was a smart thought. Steven caught Lars looking at Az. He almost looked surprised.

Az let go of Peridot, who huffed indignantly. “I just wanted to warn him! Don’t you want things to go better?”

Az almost looked pained for a second, but was gone as fast as it came. “Of course I want to make things better! The thing is, coming from the time glass breaking, everything I try to make better just gets worse! This wasn’t the first time for that, either.” He muttered bitterly. 

“Steven,” Peridot started. “I mean-  _ Az _ , I know you feel that way, but without saying much, you’ve made things so much better for so many gems. So much would never be possible without you! It’s your choice how much you want to tell yourself, but think about it, ok?”

“I mean, how different is it really from Garnet?” Lapis asked. “I mean, I certainly wouldn’t mind- ah, never mind, like I said, it’s your choice.”

“Thank you,” Az said. “You bring up some good points. I’ll- think about it.” He sighed. _ He sure sighed a lot. _ “Come on, Steven. We need to check up with the gems. If they don’t find anything, we have to meet up with someone.”

Steven grinned, all worry gone. Not really, but he could hide it for a couple hours, right?. “Oooh, who is it? More friends?”

Az sucked in a breath through his teeth. “Not friends, more like...aunts. Please don’t freak out. They’re quite...big.” _ Oooh, big how? _ Oh man, Steven was so excited!

Sadie looked at Az, looking terrified. “What do you mean,  _ big?” _

Az grimaced. “You’ll see.”

Lars looked like he was going to vomit.

Sadie looked dead to the world.

But Steven? 

Steven looked  **_radiant._ ** Aunts! He had relatives! He had extra family! He had never met anyone he was related to other than his dad. Did the gems count? Not really, no.

Az sighed again. “Don’t look so excited, Steven. I’m sure that even you will be hesitant when you meet them.  _ if _ we meet them. They’re quite… overwhelming. But- we still have to check up with the gems to see if they found anything first."

Steven pouted. "aw man." he flashed his puppy dog eyes at Az. He had been practicing. Nobody could say no to those.

Az grimaced and leaned back. He glanced at the B team. They did nothing. Steven grinned internally. Heh. Puppy dog eyes always work.

Az grinned and flashed puppy eyes back. Somehow, despite his stature, he managed to look just as cute as Steven.

“How do you do that?” Steven asked.

“I’ve been practicing as long as you, and then some.” Az smiled. “Now, this isn’t because you’re cute, which you are, but if the gems haven’t found anything yet, you can meet them.”

Steven grinned. "YES!!!" What he didn’t notice was that the stakes were the same, just phrased differently. Lars and Sadie sniggered.

Az smiled at him softly.

This was going to be a good day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AZ IS NOT A FADIAMT REFERENCE. IT WAS A THREE AM THOUGHT PLEASE FORGIVE ME. Also it’s a short chapter I am incapable of writing long ones.

**Author's Note:**

> a BIG thank you to sunrisesnowcat, man you are the BEST. thank you for reading this! it updates when i want it to lol. Kinda lazy these days so updates may take longer.


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